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WAG Announces a Major Gift to the Inuit Art Centre
Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 12, 2019: The Winnipeg Art Gallery is pleased to announce a generous gift in support of the Inuit Art Centre from The North West Company and its leadership. Their total contribution to the project is $2 million.
This commitment will help the WAG build cultural and economic bridges between northern and southern Canada and create understanding through personal connections, stories and art. This gift will amplify Inuit voices, and ensure Inuit stories are told and heard.
The gift will support a community plaza to be established adjacent the new building, as an outdoor, accessible, art-filled space for all to enjoy, and an inviting welcome into the Centre.
Quotes:
The North West Company and its leaders are champions of the WAG and the Centre, stepping forward to create a platform for Inuit to share their stories with the world.
—Dr. Stephen Borys, Director & CEO and exhibition curator, Winnipeg Art Gallery
We are committed to strengthening communities. We see the Inuit Art Centre playing an important role towards this goal, for Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, for all Canadians and for people around the world who will be exposed to the IAC.
—Edward S. Kennedy, President & CEO, The North West Company
I am delighted that my colleagues at The North West Company, and the company itself, have chosen to invest in this very important project. I’ve come to realize through my years with The North West Company the importance of art to Inuit, and to their culture and communities. I feel it is imperative that those of us who work extensively in the North give back and support projects that can make a difference economically and culturally. This is one such project. I’m proud to be a part of it, as I know was my uncle Derek Riley. Thank you to all the artists and Inuit partners who have made the WAG Inuit Art Centre possible, and to all those who continue to create breathtaking works.
—H. Sanford Riley, Chair, The North West Company
The North West Company (NWC) is a retailer serving rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and Caribbean. We are committed to helping our customers live better by bringing them the best products and services together with a tradition of community support. North West’s Northern and NorthMart stores are the largest local private employer of Indigenous people in Canada, with close to 3,000 employees and an annual payroll exceeding $65 million.